The New England Emigrant Aid Company : it's impact on territorial Kansas /

Abstract

The New England Emigrant Aid Company, formed in 1854 under the direction of Eli Thayer, was established to send settlers into the Kansas territory. The New England Emigrant Aid Company's goal was to secure Kansas as a freestate. This position was in direct opposition to the proslavery Missourian's desire to make Kansas a slave state. The New England Emigrant Aid Company supplied emigrants and leadership to the free-state movement in Kansas. This caused conflict between the free-state party and the proslavery faction. The company's impact upon Kansas and the border Missourians needed to be examined thoroughly to understand its place in Kansas history. The consequences of its presence in the territory as an antagonistic force to the proslavery Missourians has never been fully examined. It is the focus of this study to determine the effects of the company's presence and its propaganda in Kansas. The problems that the company faced from critics will also be explored in depth. Furthermore, it is the intention of this work to understand the reasons why the company presence in the territory threatened the proslavery Missourians into action.